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Learn Hardcore Malay: Perlanggaran itu teruk. - That collision was serious.

Hardcore Malay
/Making an insurance claim
/Perlanggaran itu teruk.

Perlanggaran itu teruk.

Perlanggaran itu teruk.

That collision was serious.

Breakdown of Perlanggaran itu teruk.

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Questions & Answers about Perlanggaran itu teruk.

Why is there no word for is in Perlanggaran itu teruk?

Malay often leaves out the verb to be when linking a noun to an adjective.

So:

Perlanggaran itu teruk = The collision was terrible / severe

Literally, it is more like:

that/the collision severe

This is completely normal in Malay. You do not need is/was here.

You would usually only use words like adalah in more formal or specific structures, and not in a simple sentence like this.

What does itu mean here? Is it that or the?

Itu literally means that, but in many sentences it can function a lot like the in English when referring to something specific that is already known from context.

So in this sentence:

perlanggaran itu can mean that collision
and in natural English translation it may become the collision

This is very common in Malay. The exact English choice depends on context.

What does teruk mean exactly?

Teruk means bad, serious, severe, or terrible, depending on context.

With an accident or collision, teruk usually means:

severe
serious
bad

So Perlanggaran itu teruk most naturally means something like:

The collision was severe
The crash was bad
That collision was terrible

Is perlanggaran the normal word for collision?

A learner should know that the more standard and common form is usually pelanggaran, not perlanggaran.

So you will more often see:

Pelanggaran itu teruk.

This comes from the root langgar.

Depending on context, pelanggaran can mean:

collision
crash
violation / infringement

If the meaning shown to you is collision, that is fine, but it is worth remembering that pelanggaran is the usual spelling in standard Malay.

Why does the adjective come after the noun?

That is normal Malay word order.

In this sentence:

perlanggaran itu = the/that collision
teruk = severe

Malay typically puts the adjective or descriptive word after the noun phrase in sentences like this.

So the structure is:

[noun phrase] + [description]

Examples:

Rumah itu besar = The house is big
Cuaca hari ini panas = The weather today is hot
Perlanggaran itu teruk = The collision is/was severe

Does this sentence mean is severe or was severe?

Malay verbs and predicates usually do not change form for tense the way English does.

So:

Perlanggaran itu teruk

could mean:

The collision is severe
The collision was severe

The time is understood from context.

If you want to make the past clearer, you can add a time word, for example:

Perlanggaran itu semalam teruk. = The collision yesterday was severe.

But often context is enough.

Can itu go at the end of the noun phrase like this?

Yes. That is exactly where it normally goes.

Malay says:

perlanggaran itu = that collision / the collision

not:

itu perlanggaran for this meaning

This is the normal pattern:

buku itu = that book / the book
kereta itu = that car / the car
perlanggaran itu = that collision / the collision

How would this be pronounced?

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

perlanggaran itu teruk
roughly: puhr-lang-ga-ran ee-too teh-rook

A few notes:

r is usually rolled or tapped lightly
g is always a hard g, like in go
u in teruk sounds like oo in book/food, depending on accent
e in teruk is often a schwa-like sound, so te- may sound a bit like tuh-

If you use the more standard spelling pelanggaran, then:

pelanggaran itu teruk
roughly: puh-lang-ga-ran ee-too teh-rook

Could I say sangat teruk here?

Yes. If you want to make it stronger, you can say:

Perlanggaran itu sangat teruk.

That means:

The collision was very severe
That crash was very bad

Here:

sangat = very

This is a natural way to intensify teruk.

Is this a complete sentence in Malay?

Yes, absolutely.

Malay allows very short, complete sentences like this:

Perlanggaran itu teruk.

It has:

a subject: perlanggaran itu
a predicate: teruk

Even though there is no word for is/was, it is still a full sentence.

Could this sentence also describe something other than a traffic accident?

Yes. If the noun is understood as pelanggaran/perlanggaran, the exact meaning depends on context.

It can sometimes refer to:

a physical collision
a crash
a violation or breach

But because the sentence uses teruk, many learners will naturally understand it as something serious or severe. In accident-related context, collision/crash is the most likely meaning. In legal or rule-related context, it might mean a serious violation instead.

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